Above the Law claims,

1. An email was sent around Cravath last week about the presence of bed bugs at the firm.
2. A few bedbugs were found on two floors, the 21st floor and the 41st floor, which are being fumigated.
3. Two employees had bedbugs in their apartments and told the firm, which caused the firm to investigate.
4. The 21st floor is a paralegal / administration floor, but the 41st floor is a litigation floor — which means that one of the two employees may be a lawyer.
6. Both of the employees are still with the firm (i.e., they have not been fired, like the poor soul at Cadwalader who, rumor has it, got canned after self-reporting).
7. The email about the bed bug problem was protected against forwarding or copying.

Apparently ATL did not do so well at math, as they left out #5. (I bet they billed for it anyway!)

But we’ll forgive them, since this is pretty juicy stuff they’re dishing.

Anyway, I would not blame those in the NYC legal profession for getting a bit nervous, seeing two of their bright stars come down with bed bugs. But let’s face it: any type of workplace or residence can become home to bed bugs.

Educating employees on what to watch out for, at home and at work, would be a good idea.

Here’s a hint: developing a workplace policy that says people who tell you they have bed bugs at home won’t get sacked might mean employees are more forthcoming.

• Cadwalader, Wickersham, and Taft’s alleged bed bugs, part two
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• Fox NY claims it became infested with bed bugs “a few weeks ago”; tipster tells Gawker they fired employee who brought them in
• Covington, Kentucky IRS building infested with bed bugs

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Then, a year later, in November 2007, someone else claimed there were bed bugs in the Fox newsroom. This second rumor was circulated by mediabistro blogger TVNewser.

Now a Fox executive has told the New York Times that they just recently discovered they had bed bugs in their newsroom, that they have been treated and are gone:

In an interview on Monday, Warren Vandeveer, senior vice president for operations and engineering at Fox News, said the cable channel had realized it had a problem a few weeks ago, when an employee “caught a bug and showed it to us.” An exterminator determined that the incursion was limited to a “very small area in the newsroom.”

The NYTimes claims Vanderveer told them that the problem was discovered “a few weeks ago,” the exterminator’s treatment ended “about a week ago,” and the bed bugs are now “totally eradicated.” If that timeline of detection and treatment is accurate, many experts might say it is too soon to say for sure that the problem is “totally eradicated.”

As for how long ago Fox has had a bed bug problem, is it true that bed bugs only first appeared in the Fox newsroom “a few weeks ago”? Or were they only first verified then?  Were they also there in November 2007 as per TVNewer’s tip? (TVNewser claimed the newsroom was getting pest control treatment last November.) Did TVNewser get faulty information? And were any bed bugs in Fox News in November 2006 as Claudia’s source claimed?

If the 2006 and/or 2007 rumors of bed bugs at Fox were incorrect, it’s a pretty big coincidence that the only station that we’ve heard rumored to be infested with bed bugs — twice — later became infested with bed bugs.

Vanderveer also apparently told the New York Times that

. . . the source of the bugs was not determined until the exterminator inspected the homes of about 20 employees. Mr. Vandeveer said the exterminator later described one employee’s home as having “the worst infestation he had seen in 25 years in the business.”

This raised all kinds of questions in my mind, but foremost in my mind is this one: did Fox insist all newsroom employees had their homes searched, or did they volunteer?

Finding that one employee has a serious, serious bed bug infestation may seem like a smoking gun to Fox, but it actually doesn’t in itself prove the employee brought them in to work (rather than someone else doing so).  I grant that it is highly likely.

But still: what if the home where bed bugs was found was not the worst case PCOs had found in 25 years? In that hypothetical case, would it be fair to link bed bugs to an employee whose home was found to have them? What kind of evidence is needed to verify such a connection? Even if every company employee’s home was searched, which does not seem to be the case here, could such a connection be proven?

Gawker claims to have gotten a tip alleging that the person who brought the bed bugs in was subsequently fired. (Gothamist asks, “Is that even legal?”)

This is the second time we’ve heard an employee was allegedly fired for bringing bed bugs to work. The first we heard of was at Cadwalader.

I am very glad for those who work at Fox that the bed bug infestation was detected and treated. I hope that the treatment which began only a few weeks ago continues until everyone really is certain.

• Another top NYC lawfirm gets bed bugs
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Still, I was skeptical (you can’t believe everything you read, especially on the internets, etc.), but then Claudia followed up with the comment on my post, with:

That’s what my producer friend there says. I believe him.

And, Dear Reader, at that point I believed her.

But we heard no more news of bed bugs at Fox News (NYC) until today, when this came down the pipeline. Another “rumor” passed on by another person working in the media, this time Chris Ariens at The Huffington Post, who wrote yesterday:

TVNewser has learned that a small area of the Fox News Channel newsroom has evidence of insects believed to be bed bugs. What is not known is how the insects got into the basement-level newsroom of the News Corp. headquarters. Most likely, an employee or guest unknowingly transported the poppy seed-sized bugs on their clothing, which then made their way into the fabric or carpeting.

Or, possibly even more likely: since another part of what I assume is the same building was allegedly battling bed bugs a year ago, they were not entirely eradicated and have come back. They can spread from one part of a building to another, as may have happened at Cadwalader’s office building.

Since this kind of resurgence happens all the time with individuals in their homes, even when people go to extreme lengths to avoid it, I do not doubt it can happen in an office, where it’s less likely items will have been quarantined and searched as carefully as can be.

Or maybe the “source(s)” of the bed bugs keep coming back and reinfesting the place.

Hint to FoxNews: if “a small area” has evidence of bed bugs, a larger area may indeed be affected. I’d keep looking.

Update 11/19:

This is the original TVNewser post. It says an exterminator was brought in late last week and “those who sit near there have been alerted to take precautionary measures including sending their clothes to the dry cleaner.” Hmmmm.

• Fox NY claims it became infested with bed bugs “a few weeks ago”; tipster tells Gawker they fired employee who brought them in
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• Case study: bed bugs survived dry cleaning… and resurfaced 6 months later (update)
• those “wee flat bronze coloured things with a black spot” that come out at night

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Terry says, “A pest control program for bed bugs is very detailed. You’ve got to get all the crevices. We are doing a little more than we really need to, but it’s to make sure we don’t have a problem in the future.”

That means Terry’s son, Tony, has to bag contents of every locker in the school, and then spray those contents with an insecticide.

Tony and his mother are wearing only gloves now, but when the heavy fumigation gets underway, they’ll be wearing face masks, too.

I am interested in these methods, since I have not heard PCOs here talking about spraying into bags of belongings. Perhaps a PCO would tell us what this might be.

I initially thought it was a good thing that Bracken County Schools were taking bed bugs seriously after finding a bed bug in school, since cities like New York City are so slow to take action against similar situations. My initial positive sense was based on Bracken County’s willingness to treat schools for bed bugs. I thought that their treatment of every school in the district was based on a sense that bed bugs must be more widespread than in just this one school.

Now, however, I am becoming more concerned about the community’s response, especially their apparent obsession with pinpointing its source. It betrays a lack of education about bed bugs and their behavior, which appears to be a prevalent problem elsewhere too.

Parents in Brooksville are divided about the schools closing an extra day just for bed bugs.

Elizabeth Aulick, a mother of two Bracken County students says, “Yeah, it does concern me, but the letter I got said they only found one bug. If it’s one bug isolated to one child, keep him home for a few days.”

A mother of three Bracken County students, including one at the Middle School says, “I guess it’s a little unexpected. I never expected something like this, but I guess it’s a good thing. Just to be on the safe side. It didn’t both me, I said, ‘Well, that’s fine.’”

The school fumigation in Bracken County is getting the full support of the county health department there.

I am glad the health department in Bracken County recognizes bed bugs as a concern, since many don’t. However, I have to say that what’s being said about the child in this case is absurd.

People in Bracken County must not associate the schools’ bed bug issue, if they indeed have one, with this one student who may have had the bed bug on his things or on his clothing. Bed bugs can live and breed in schools or in school buses or public transportation, and they can crawl onto students at any of these locations (as well as many others). As we have taken pains to explain in the past, the presence of a bed bug on a person or their things absolutely does not prove the person brought the bed bug in.

All parents, including those of the child who was bitten by the bed bug, must search at home and have a qualified PCO inspect if anyone is complaining of bites or if they see any bed bugs or possible signs. However, it is crucial that parents and school officials realize that bed bugs are not lice, and do not live on people. They crawl on, feed, and run away. If a bed bug is found on a person in a school, it does not mean the person brought the bed bug to the school.

I would assume the Bracken County School officials know this, since they are treating every school, and not just the one the bed bug was found in. And yet it does not sound like the parents or media have been picking up on that fact.

If the child did indeed have had an infestation at home and brought them into the school, then his family, too, caught them from somewhere. They spread easily. And everyone should be alert. Everyone should be asking where this family might have picked up bed bugs: parents’ workplace? YMCA? School? Bus? Motel? Because where they got them, you can get them too.

However, the child should not be blamed, nor should he be kept home. People with active infestations need to take some steps to avoid spreading bed bugs. Treating the child himself as if he were contagious is an ignorant mistake.

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Bracken County schools will be closed Friday after a middle school student was found to have an infestation of bed bugs, and one of the bugs was found in a classroom.

Bracken County Schools Superintendent Tony Johnson said in a release Thursday that the health department was contacted after the discovery, and that the schools will be closed in order to perform pest control treatments in each school as a precaution.

NBC WLWT5.com says that the school is being closed today, but that Monday and Tuesday were already scheduled as days off. Still, this gives schools more time to do their work. WLWT also adds:

Health department officials will oversee measures intended to prevent the spread of bedbugs, and the student will receive treatment, officials said.

This is interesting: it does not say the child’s parents will be directed to get treatment. It implies they may be taking care of it.

The most interesting thing here is that they found one bed bug, in one school, but they are treating them all. Oh, and they’re talking about it. The New York City Department of Education could learn a thing or two from them about how to deal with bed bugs.

More than a year ago, one of the first posts on this blog suggested that Lexington, KY was taking bed bugs more seriously than New York City. The same could definitely now also be said of Bracken County.

But is Bracken County’s response too enthusiastic? Is this overkill?

• Warning to Bracken County, KY: don’t get caught in the bed bug blame game
• Rockford, IL: half of Red Roof Inn shut down due to bed bugs
• More on the New York City schools and bed bugs
• New York City public schools continue to be treated for bed bugs

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UPPER WEST SIDE—It seems there is a little detail about the condo conversion at 30 Lincoln Plaza that may have been overlooked: “You failed to mention that the building is infested with bed bugs…the management has confirmed this and is handing out pamphlets and they have even had a bedbug sniffing dog in some apartments..who knew! I would think this situation is going to really boost sales on those $1,185,000 647 sq/ft one bedrooms.” Bedbug sniffing dogs?!? Excellent. [CurbedWire Inbox]

While it’s always surprising to find out another building has bed bugs, it’s a good thing that the building management is aware and is taking action. I hope they undertake aggressive treatment throughout. (Imagine, hypothetically, the legal activity that would ensue if some units were infested but did not identify the presence of pests, were not treated, and were sold infested.)

This item from Curbed.com reminds me that a lot of the interesting bed bug “news” in the last four days has been leaked via gossip blogs: legal gossip, real estate gossip, ivy league college gossip (although this one probably had another itchy culprit).

Unlike “real” news–which is covered in the newspapers, and on TV and radio–like the spread of MRSA drug-resistant staph bacteria, which tragically killed a 7th grader in Brooklyn, bed bugs aren’t yet confirmed to cause disease and death. They have been unofficially confirmed to cause distress, stress, anxiety, sleeping trouble–and in rare cases, allergic reactions so severe they can kill. But nothing compared with the threat of deadly MRSA. I saw an ABC news segment here in NYC Friday night–kids at the school that youngster attended, were carrying bottles of purell, and startled parents and teachers were looking on in amazement as they reported washing their hands after using the lavatory (ABC7 produced multiple clips in which the students admitted this was new behavior.) The segment also featured a poster on the door of the school, and though it was not shown close-up, I am pretty certain it warned that the school had been exposed to MRSA and that people had to take precautions not to catch it.

Since bed bugs aren’t on the same level of threat, the reasoning seems to go, we don’t need to actually warn people about bed bugs in specific locations. And so “bed bug reports” are confined to the realm of gossip blogs.

Yes, it is true that hotels, real estate developers and brokers, restaurants, theaters and other businesses that are reported to have bed bugs in the mainstream media, will face worried customers and may lose business. The hotel industry in NYC, in particular, will be hard hit. One can only assume Mayor Bloomberg chooses to avoid confronting and admitting the true number of infested homes and businesses in this city (which I first considered in this post), because it would scare off tourists, who contribute so much to the city, as well as negatively affecting real estate, and maybe even how people spend their leisure time (and money).

But it does not follow that if we do not discuss bed bugs, publicly, then they will go away. The opposite is true: as long as businesses are in denial, or putting up a bed-bug-free front, the problem will keep spreading at an alarming rate, and eventually, I believe, the hit on businesses will be greater.

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Having heard nothing since then, I was glad to see that yesterday the New York Observer (in their 10/23 online and 10/29 print edition) re-told the bed bugs at Cadwalader story, that the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.com law blog (housed in the same building as Cadwalader!) covered the Observer’s coverage. After all, the more people realize you can have bed bugs at work–even in very classy workplaces–the better.

The Observer’s David Lat also edits the online legal tabloid AbovetheLaw.com, where we picked up the original leaked-memo bed bug story. We missed this, but on October 3rd, Above the Law also covered a second report of bed bugs in the same offices, this time on the 20th floor:

It is believed that said bedbug infiltrated the premises through a delivery or box shipment. Perhaps it was hidden in a document production from opposing counsel?

While this is entirely possible, since bed bugs had previously been found in the same building, I would not be surprised if other locations in the building were infested. Maybe (gasp!) the blamed employee was fired for nothing. It is very difficult to locate blame for a bed bug infestation.

And remember, the original memo made this claim:

“A single treatment by an exterminator usually controls bed bugs and prevents reinfestation for several months.”

Perhaps one treatment was not enough.

In October, management was more careful to avoid the leaked-memo scenario:

Attorneys were notified of this breach in CWT’s bed bug security via email. We haven’t seen the email message, which we understand was protected against forwarding, printing, or copying.

Too bad. The first memo was fascinating.

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• Harvard dorm treated for scabies–but what was it really? Also, bed bugs at Columbia?
• Another top NYC lawfirm gets bed bugs

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Hello,

I found your site and wanted to ask a question. I rent an NYC apartment and it has been confirmed by an exterminator that we have bed bugs. I am wondering about the transportation of bed bugs. For example, I work in a corporate office…What are the odds that I’ve transported the bed bugs to the office? Can they be living on my chair at work? Can they be transported through hugging or close contact with others? I check my clothing and have not seen any bugs walking around on myself or clothing, but can the eggs be transported by any of the above situations?

Thank you so much in advance for your feedback.

Best regards,
bugginINlowerNYC

Hi bugginINlowerNYC,

Sorry for your bed bug troubles. The bad news is that bed bugs can spread. They can catch a ride in your clothing or bag, and hop off somewhere else to start a new life. It’s worth considering this possibility, as you are. The good news is they don’t spread that easily, and it is possible to avoid this using some precautions.

It’s also worth noting that they can bite during the daytime, a fact which some people just don’t acknowledge. If bed bugs are in a school, a corporate office, or somewhere else where people are not sitting or lying down at night, they will bite by daylight.

Let’s take your questions one by one:

I am wondering about the transportation of bed bugs. For example, I work in a corporate office…What are the odds that I’ve transported the bed bugs to the office?

First of all, don’t panic. It happens, but I would say it is a small percentage of people who report this.

Though few people report this happening, we do also encourage people to take precautions against it. If it does happen, not only can you create a stressful situation at work, but you are also likely to reinfest yourself at home, even if treatment at home is going well.

Precautions might include carefully inspecting purses, shoes, etc. and treating them in appropriate ways if necessary; storing them in the home carefully; washing and drying clothing on hot and storing it in sealed containers (e.g. XL ziplocs) before use; showering and dressing in this cleaned-dried-sealed-up clothing directly before going out to work or anywhere else.

If, instead, you sit around at home, then hop up, grab a bag off your (possibly infested) sofa, hop in the car, and go to work (friend’s home, etc.) then you are more likely to bring bed bugs elsewhere.

And while few people have reported taking them to work, many people have reported giving them to relatives, friends, etc.

Finally, this is not your situation, but for others out there, some folks think they have bed bugs at home, where they might actually be bitten at work. Since bite marks and itching seem to appear after one is bitten (anywhere from a few hours to the next day or longer), it is possible to be bitten at work and think you are bitten at home. Keeping a log of when new bites appear might help you pinpoint this. Most people seem to first notice new bites sometime the day after being bitten: in the morning, afternoon, or evening, in many cases. Lots of Bedbuggers notice them after a warm or hot shower, or exercise, suggesting that heat can “bring them out” somehow. That is based on anecdotal evidence; unfortunately, this stuff has not really been studied yet.

Can they be living on my chair at work?

Yes–or, for that matter, a chair at home. Sofas, soft chairs, desk chairs, anything really: if you sit there for long periods (working at your desk, zoning out at home in front of the internet or a movie), you can be bitten. And they are likely to hide out near where they feed.

But remember– in addition to beds or chairs, bed bugs can actually live in the room itself (under baseboards, in floor cracks, around edges of carpeting, even behind electrical plates).

Can they be transported through hugging or close contact with others?

It is possible, but not easy. As per the first answer above, they will “hitchhike” in your bag, or even an item of clothing. If you are wearing washed, clean clothes, and if you take care to store items like coats and shoes properly, then it would be difficult for them to do so. Also, even if they did hitchhike, say in a trouser cuff or bag, they would not likely ride around very long. They want to bite you and then run off and hide inside something that is not moving!

Again, this does not apply to your situation, but we have heard of extremely serious infestations of people who did not bathe or change their clothing regularly, who were walking around covered in bed bugs. This is a rare situation, but it can happen.

I check my clothing and have not seen any bugs walking around on myself or clothing, but can the eggs be transported by any of the above situations?

It is possible a bed bug could have left an egg in your clothing. However, eggs take 6-17 days to hatch according to this Cornell fact sheet.
So if you’re washing your clothing and storing it as we describe during your infestation, this should not be a problem. Washing and drying on hot will kill bed bugs and eggs. If a hot wash will damage your clothes, Dr. Michael Potter has done some research on drying dry items on hot (which should be safer for items not suitable for machine washing and drying together). These FAQs about dealing with clothing should help.

For the benefit of others, I should point out that the precautions are not difficult in and of themselves, but they become moreso if you a lot of people in your home, or live with elderly people, children, people with various disabilities, or even adults who do not want to participate. I do not discount these difficulties, but am simply suggesting what has worked for others.

I hope other readers will comment with additional suggestions, questions, or comments.

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First, the journalist Judith Woods says of some bed bug victims:

The lawyer got rid of her bed, both mattress and frame, which ideally anyone with an infestation should do.

Wrong! Tossing such items out is unnecessary, since a Pest Control Operator (PCO) can treat them. Moreover, throwing them away (even labeled and sealed) makes it very likely someone else will pick them up and use them. You’d be surprised how eager others are to bring them home, or sell them secondhand (beware the Car Boot Sales, my British friends). In so many cases, you cannot tell from looking at the items that they are infested. If you’re in a multi-unit building or an attached house, your neighbors may even take them, meaning they can later come back to you.

Similarly, Woods suggests,

Bed linen can be washed at the highest possible temperature – but [PCO Ben Knorton of Rentokil] advises throwing it out.
“I’ve seen sheets literally moving with the sheer number of bedbugs under them,” he says. “In that situation you really need to take drastic action.”

Well, if the bed is moving under the weight of bed bugs, perhaps that’s right. But washing on hot and drying on hot are a better idea in most cases. The above statement implies otherwise. I would only throw out sheets, or a bed and frame, if the PCO advised it. And then I would get them to help (with the mattress and frame) to ensure it was carefully done.

We’re also told of the same afflicted lawyer’s case,

Her room was then sealed and sprayed with insecticide three times over as many weeks.

Does this mean the room was sealed and left for three weeks, meaning no one was sleeping there? If so, the insecticide is not likely to work. Bed bugs need to be lured out to cross the poison and die.

Thanks to reader Fedupandparanoid, in the UK, who wrote me an email to alert me to this article and the issues mentioned above.

She also had this to say:

The article was nearly a full page on the Health on Monday page, and headlined ‘Don’t let the bedbugs bite,’ but I was very dissapointed at the tone of the article and take issue with some of the information contained in it. For some reason the journalist writing had called in Rentokil to check her house because she was so worried about the general rise in bedbugs. She didn’t appear to have any reason for suspecting bedbugs other than that there is a 500-fold increase in cases in London. Rentokil, who she called in, are at the very expensive end of the pest control market and they will be rubbing their hands in glee if they can charge good money to go in and inspect middle class people’s homes for no reason other than there is a general increase.

In fairness, the article did mention signs you can look for, like blood spots and fecal stains, bites in a row and did mention what a bedbug looks like, also the problems with hotels, but they seemed to miss an opportunity of really educating people. The journalist to her ‘great relief received a clean bill of health’ for her beds and although I wouldn’t wish bedbugs on anyone it would have carried more weight if she had actually had them or knew someone who had. There was nothing really about the terrible trauma and life disruption that people go through just a few jokey comments about what the neighbours would think.

Fedupandparanoid also said,

I just feel so annoyed that a paper like the Daily Telegraph - respected for it’s journalism - can make such a hash of a good opportunity. I realise journalists have to write articles that people want to read but there seemed no research and no substance to the article at all.

Yes. I agree with Fedup that we have come to expect more. At least the British press are covering the issue–getting people to talk about bed bugs is the first step.

In other news, in one of the few places that has gone beyond talking about bed bugs, Cincinnati emergency personnel are concerned about catching bed bugs when they go to help the city’s residents, ABC9 (WCPO.com) reports.

Firefighters, police, and health workers are encountering bed bugs in their work. And in the circumstances, where people are in danger, personnel don’t generally have time to worry about whether a place is infested before they go in.

Cincinnati Fire District Chief Ronald J. Texter says they’re working on a plan so crews won’t bring them back to the firehouse.

“The difficulty for us is that we can’t go into a house, survey it first, find out whether or not there’s bedbugs and then take precautions by putting on a Tyvex suit or something like that, like an exterminator would do.”

Texter said the department is concerned about the growing bedbug problem. The bugs are so small, sometimes you can’t see them.

“We’ve also had hospitals call and tell us that the patient, when they started treating them, they found bedbugs and they call us and let us know as a precaution that the patient had bedbugs,” Texter said.

This is good news: hospital staff are tuned in to the problem and the dangers of personnel exposed to it. The bad news is if patients are carrying bed bugs on their person, they must be suffering from very bad infestations.

If a firefighter walks into a home with bedbugs, they’re being encouraged to clean their equipment as soon as they return to the station.

Chief Texter admits that’s easier said than done.

“When you make 15 to 20 runs a day and you can’t stop everytime and take everything out, clean it, and put it all back and make sure there’s no bedbugs.”

The Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police says officers have similar concerns.

Both departments are working on a plan to deal with the problem.

The fire department is educating personnel in addition to hiring an exterminator.

“If we do have a problem with bedbugs, we already have a pest control operator under contract to treat the infestation.”

Cincinnati emergency personnel, like the Cincinnati health department, are being very proactive about bed bugs. That the police and fire departments are talking to pest control operators in advance of detecting an infestation, is a very good thing. Lots can be done–not only in terms of educating personnel about signs of bed bugs and what to do if one is exposed, but also in terms of developing a protocol for searching the firehouse, for example, or where to store clothing that may be exposed.

And make no mistake: bed bugs are spreading via the same routes everywhere else. The difference is, people in Cincinnati are not afraid to talk about it. It’s the first step to making things better.

Click to read or watch the ABC9 video from Cincinnati.

Click here to read the Daily Telegraph article.

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One woman is interviewed who used to work as a motel housekeeper; she started getting bitten at work, and she quit her job because of it.

“If I’m getting bit up like this, making me sick, I’m sure other people are too,” said Laquita Grimes.

I just hope she did not take them home from work with her. It’s tragic that she had to quit her job because of this. I wonder how many more people take bed bugs home from work, and are faced with the expense of eradication.

The motel where Grimes works tells 13News they have sprayed and that the problem is now under control, but the management admits bed bugs are a problem reputable hotels and motels across the country are dealing with now more than ever.

While I am glad the motel has treated for bed bugs, I am not reassured by being told “they have sprayed.” “Under control” might be enough for pests like cockroaches, but bed bugs need to be eliminated. While this is not permanently possible in a hotel or motel, where new bed bugs could arrive any day, managers of lodging establishments need to do more, on an ongoing basis.

I hope that they realize that regular treatment is necessary for bed bugs. The motel needs to clean extensively to remove bed bugs and their eggs, and treat aggressively, including follow-ups every 10-14 days by a PCO who knows bed bugs (not simply by motel staff). They also, in my opinion, need a bed bug protocol, which should include training staff to recognize signs of bed bugs, and maybe some kind of preventive treatment, since bed bugs will be brought in again and again.

Click the button to read the story or watch the video.

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